A highly motivated Katie Boulter celebrated her most significant career victory as the British player eliminated world number two Elena Rybakina to advance to the Queen’s semi-finals.
After triumphing over Jaqueline Cristian earlier in the day to reach the last eight, Boulter returned to the court on Friday evening and delivered a stunning upset against Australian Open champion Rybakina in an impressive 7-5 2-6 6-4 win.
Boulter, ranked 73rd globally, successfully defended 12 of the 14 break points she faced over a duration of two hours and 39 minutes against Rybakina, a former Wimbledon title holder.
The 29-year-old was enthusiastically cheered on by fervent local supporters and bounded across the court in jubilation after Rybakina sent a return into the net on Boulter’s third opportunity to win the match.
Boulter’s next challenge will be against Croatia’s Donna Vekic for an opportunity to reach the final.
Another British player, Emma Raducanu, might also face the prospect of playing two matches on the same day after securing her place in the quarter-finals earlier on Friday.
Raducanu achieved her first triumph against a top-20 opponent in over a year by defeating Romanian world number 18 Sorana Cirstea 6-4 6-2, thereby advancing to the last eight.
This was a crucial win for Raducanu against an adversary who had convincingly beaten her in the Transylvania Open final in February – and the 23-year-old had not secured consecutive victories since that tournament four months prior.
However, there was insufficient time for the top British player to compete in her quarter-final against Kamilla Rakhimova – meaning she would need to play that match and her semi-final on Saturday, should she overcome the 78th-ranked Russian-born Uzbek.
No matches could be played at Queen’s on Thursday due to rain, which meant all four quarter-finals had to be contested on Friday.
